Elton John Denies Grope Claim By Ex-Bodyguard

Sir Elton John is being sued for sexual harassment by a former bodyguard who claims the singer repeatedly groped him and made sexually suggestive comments.

Jeffrey Wenninger, a captain in the Los Angeles Police Department, alleges the "unwelcome touching" occurred on many occasions in the several years since he started doing security work for the star in 2002.

The incidents escalated "in frequency and intensity after 2010", it is claimed.

"At no time did plaintiff consent to defendant Elton John touching him in this offensive manner, or in any other manner," the court papers state.

Sir Elton has denied the allegations, which he said were driven by money.

Orin Snyder, a US lawyer representing the artist's company, Rocket Entertainment Group, said: "This baseless lawsuit is brought by a disgruntled former security officer seeking to extract an undeserved payment.

"These claims are patently untrue and contradicted by numerous previous statements made by this plaintiff. We will not give in to his latest abuse of the legal system."

During one incident, the married Grammy winner is accused of groping the police officer while riding to an airport in late March 2014.

The officer worked for Sir Elton while off-duty through a private company which he is also suing for allegedly improperly removing him from working on the singer's security team in September 2014.

According to court papers, he claims he was effectively fired because he had reported a fellow officer for overtime theft.

Marla Brown, a lawyer acting for Mr Wenninger, refused to address why her client requested to work with the star after the alleged sexual harassment occurred.